Artwork, Afrobics dance, and fashion competitions have been listed as the three major competitions to kick off the 2022 Felabration, which is aimed at providing a platform for young creatives to attain enviable heights.
According to the organisers, the 2022 annual festival of music and arts commemorating the life and times of Nigeria’s foremost musical icon, the late great Fela Anikulapo Kuti will begin on Thursday, September 29 with the artwork competition.
Speaking on the competitions, one of the judges for the Afrobics dance competition, Funke Kuti noted that the competitions were carefully created to be a platform for young creatives in arts, fashion, and dance while commemorating the legacies of the legendary Afrobeat progenitor.
The artwork competition is scheduled to be held at the Kalakuta museum. With the theme, ‘Fear not 4 man,’ three winners are expected to emerge in the art competition. The second runner-up will go home with N100,000, the first runner-up will win N150,000 and the winner will be presented with a cash prize of N250,000.
Felabration is an annual music festival conceived in 1998 by Yeni Anikulapo-Kuti in memory and celebration of her father Fela Kuti, a Nigerian musician and human rights activist known for pioneering the afrobeat genre of music. The one-week-long event which is held annually at the New Afrika Shrine in Ikeja, attracts visitors from different countries and has thus been considered as an official tourist destination by the Lagos State Government.
Felabration is held on the week of Fela Kuti birthday. The event features musical performances from top music acts from Nigeria and guest appearances from internationally acclaimed musicians and personalities.[3] It also consists of street parades, symposia on social and topical issues, debates and photo exhibitions.
2015 edition: “Just Like That”
The first time the festival was held, it took place from 12th – 18th october, 2015 at the famous Afrika shrine, Ikeja, Lagos State.
This years edition kicked off with a symposium titled ” Human Rights As My Property” and the session was anchored by Honourable Sasore, former Attorney General of Lagos State.[6] There was also the annual fela debates for secondary schools tagged ” Poverty Is Not An Acccident”.
The festival had legendary performances from Star acts like Third World: an international reggae group, 2face, Femi Kuti, Ice Prince and a surprise performance by Majek Fashek.
2020 virtual edition: “Fight to Finish, Fight to Win”
The festival took place last from 15–17 October 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic rocking the world at the time of the festival and the restriction on gatherings and activities, the organisers choose to hold the festival virtually.
This was the first time the festival was held virtually. The Festival kicked started with a Felabration symposium titled “Colomentality” which was anchored by a Ugandan journalist and broadcaster Vincent Magombe.
Some of the speakers at the symposium includes Arikana Chihombori, former permanent representative to the African Union Mission in Washinghton and Kweku Mandela, a filmmaker and producer from South Africa.
Other activities in the festival included the “Dress Like Fela Challenge” where fans compete to imitate the dressing of the legendary Fela and the winner goes home with fifty thousand naira.
There was also the secondary school debates, art festivals and other events that preceded the festival. There were also musical performances from Wizkid, 2baba, Joeboy, Falz and a host of other afrobeat musicians.
